‘Predictive government’ is key to ‘govtech utopia’: Saudi official to IMF

A predictive government utopia would be a dystopian nightmare for constitutional republics: perspective

Predictive government services are key to a “govtech utopia” that is powered by digital public infrastructure (DPI), a Saudi official tells the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“Going into the next phase of the predictive government […] The government needs to know what it is that you want or need in the near future”

Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh, IMF Spring Meetings, April 17, 2024

Speaking at the IMF Spring Meetings 2024 on a panel called “A GovTech Playbook: Lessons Learned from Cross-Country Experiences,” Saudi Arabia’s Vice Governor of Shared Services Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh said the government should know what its “beneficiaries” want, and it should provide them with services such as nudging people when to get vaccinated or where to go to school.

In constitutional republics, these sorts of decisions would normally be put to a vote of the people or their representatives, but the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy, and all of its national officials are unelected, so not much hope of voting there.

With democratic principles tossed aside, unelected official AlSheikh described his govtech utopia as having predictive government services operating within the civic technology stack of digital public infrastructure, which consists of three components: digital ID, fast payments systems, and massive data sharing.

“If a family is blessed with a child […] then immediately the Ministry of Health […] needs to start sending reminders to their parents for vaccination”

Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh, IMF Spring Meetings, April 17, 2024

AlSheikh’s govtech utopia involves creating a predictive government that knows all about its people through massive data collection, so that ministries can send periodic nudges for people to get vaccinated, to go to preschool, to university, etc.

“Going into the next phase of the predictive government, and this is something we’ve been working on for a few years […] The government now is interconnected — solutions and agencies are all interconnected — we have a ‘Government Services Bus’ and a secure network that links the entire government together, so every piece of data is there,” said the Saudi official.

“So now, the government needs to know what is it that you want or need in the near future.”

For example, AlSheikh explained, “If a family is blessed with a child — a newborn, then immediately the Ministry of Health knows that there’s a human that got introduced into the society; then they need to start sending reminders to their parents for vaccination on their periodic intervals required.

“As soon as they reach the year four or five, then the Ministry of Education will send the reminder to the family telling them that your son or daughter needs to go to preschool if you wish, and they know probably your location based on your national address: ‘this is a recommendation proximity of schools next to you.’

“And then you’re reaching the age of 18; then it’s time […] to go to university. Then they send recommendations and support and so on.

“The government has all of these data and capabilities; we’re working on creating that predictive government analysis,” he added.

When asked at the end of the panel discussion if he could describe his “govtech utopia,” AlSheikh reiterated that predictive government services were key, but that they were still in the early phases.

However, the Saudi official did say, “If the government can reach that level where it really provides all the comfort and support to its beneficiary, then yes, we’ve achieved our target.”

“Making sure that down the road we continue to involve the beneficiaries to understand what is it that they’re looking for“

Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh, IMF Spring Meetings, April 17, 2024

“Remember,” AlSheikh continued, “the government is here to serve each and everyone and leaving no one behind. Even if they are underprivileged, we need to find ways to get to them to provide them with the services.”

Here, the Saudi official is describing a future where government plays the role of big brother.

“Leaving no one behind” means getting everybody on the digital public infrastructure system (eg digital ID, payments, data exchanges), so that their data can be collected to power the coming “predictive government” utopia.

AlSheikh also said that it was the role of government to put itself in the “seat” of its “beneficiaries” to understand what they want.

Well, one way to find out what people want would be to hold a vote, but since he’s representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, democratic processes would basically be out of the question.

And notice that the Saudi official doesn’t refer to the people being impacted as citizens, or even subjects of the crown, but rather “beneficiaries.”

“Making sure that down the road we continue to involve the beneficiaries to understand what is it that they’re looking for,” said AlSheikh.

“Years back, a typical government would just predict, ‘Oh, this is what you want; this is the service I’m giving you; here you go; take it.’ No, this is all changing, and we’re changing it,” he added.

Instead of a vote, AlSheikh says the government should be listening to NGOs and civil society groups in order to “understand what it is they want.”

“We’re sitting in their seat and bringing them alongside with us just to understand from them, from a group of people, from society, civil society groups, from NGOs, from everyone,” said the Saudi official.

“We need to understand what it is that they want, so that they can provide it better,” he added.

“The [Saudi] regime relies on pervasive surveillance, the criminalization of dissent, appeals to sectarianism and ethnicity, and public spending supported by oil revenues to maintain power”

Freedom House, Saudi Arabia Freedom in The World Overview, 2024

AlSheikh talks a sweet game about the government providing “comfort and support” to everyone, including the underprivileged, so that nobody is left behind; however, “Saudi Arabia’s absolute monarchy restricts almost all political rights and civil liberties,” according to DC-based NGO Freedom House.

In the kingdom, “No officials at the national level are elected,” and “the regime relies on pervasive surveillance, the criminalization of dissent, appeals to sectarianism and ethnicity, and public spending supported by oil revenues to maintain power.”

In one single day, on March 12, 2022, the Saudi regime mass executed 81 men, including citizens and foreign nationals.

“Some of those executed were also convicted of ‘disrupting the social fabric and national cohesion’ and ‘participating in and inciting sit-ins and protests,'” according to Amnesty International.

A year later, in July 2023, a retired Saudi teacher was sentenced to death under a counterterrorism law for his social media posts on Twitter and YouTube that were critical of the government.

Despite the undemocratic principles, the human rights abuses, non-existent free press, and pervasive government surveillance, the IMF brought on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s deputy governor of Shared Services to show off his vision of a govtech utopia as an example to the world.

For constitutional republics, this predictive government utopia would be a dystopian nightmare where the government knows everything about you, and where dissent is buried with the bodies of the deceased.

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Image source: Saudi Arabia Deputy Governor of Shared Services Hisham Abdulmalik AlSheikh, IMF YouTube